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Internet of Things or Machine-To-Machine Connectivity?

The terms IoT and M2M are often talked about synonymously, however, they are far from identical, and when you’re looking to implement a solution, it’s important to know the differences between the two -- or rather, when you should use one over the other. 

M2M stands for "machine to machine," a technology that is similar to IoT, or the "Internet of Things," but which also has some key differences. It’s these differences that make it important to know whether your project is better suited to an M2M or an IoT solution – and, ideally, this is something you’ll define in the early stages. 

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The Anatomy of an IoT Solution

Artificial intelligence relies on data. One of the leading ways to collect data these days is by using the Internet of Things. IoT connectivity is often used in devices containing sensors of some sort, allowing us to automatically collect information that either was not collectible before or which needed a human to collect it. Let’s go on a crash course on how you build an IoT platform or IoT device architecture, and which layers work together to make up such a solution. For this example, our IoT connectivity will center around cellular and the use of IoT SIM cards. 

To begin with, it’s important to realize that there are four individual layers involved in building an IoT solution. Starting from the bottom — with individual frontline devices containing IoT SIM cards on-board — and working upwards to the networks over which your data is transmitted, and the IT applications that let you manage and control your entire fleet of IoT SIM cards. The layer hierarchy is arranged as follows.